MANILA, Philippines â€“ The Philippines is poised to officially quit the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sunday, March 17, though the beleaguered tribunal has pledged to pursue its examination of possible crimes in the government's deadly drug war.
Manila's withdrawal becomes final a year after it told the United Nations that it was quitting the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, the second nation to do so. (READ: Duterte throws out decade-long fight for the International Criminal Court)

"The Secretary-General...informed all concerned states that the withdrawal will take effect for the Philippines on March 17," UN spokesperson Eri Kaneko told Agence France-Presse.
The departure of the Philippines follows the court being hit in recent years by high-profile acquittals and moves by several nations to drop out.
Manila moved to quit after the body launched a preliminary examination in 2018 of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug crackdown that has killed thousands and drawn international censure.
Duterte's drug war is his signature policy initiative and he defends it fiercely, especially from international critics like Western leaders and institutions which he says don't care about his country.
However, court officials have said the preliminary probe launched by ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in February 2018 into possible crimes against humanity in the drug war would continue.
Under the court's rules, any matter under consideration before a nation leaves the court is still under its jurisdiction. (EXPLAINER: ICC's track record and what it means for Duterte and the PH)
String of setbacks

Duterte has made it clear his government will not cooperate with the ICC in any way.
"The court "can never acquire jurisdiction over my person. Not in a million years," he said in a speech on Wednesday, March 13.

The examination, which is one step before a full-blown probe, zeroes in on allegations the government has been involved in illegal killings as part of the crackdown Duterte launched in mid-2016.
Police say they have killed 5,176 users or pushers who resisted arrest, but rights groups say the actual number of dead is at least triple that number. (READ: The Impunity Series)
Critics have alleged the crackdown amounts to a war on the poor that feeds an undercurrent of impunity and lawlessness in the nation of 106 million.

The Philippines' move to exit follows a string of setbacks for the ICC, including the January acquittal of former Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo and the June 2018 not guilty verdict for former DR Congo vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Burundi in 2017 became the first-ever nation to leave the court, which was founded in 2002.
In a wave of unprecedented defections, other African nations â€” Zambia, South Africa, Kenya and Gambia â€” have also made moves to quit or expressed interest in withdrawing as they accused the court of being biased against Africans.
However, earlier in March, the court got a boost when Malaysia officially joined, making it one of just a handful of Asian members. â€“ Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines â€“ The Philippines is poised to officially quit the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sunday, March 17, though the beleaguered tribunal has pledged to pursue its examination of possible crimes in the government's deadly drug war.
Manila's withdrawal becomes final a year after it told the United Nations that it was quitting the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, the second nation to do so. (READ: Duterte throws out decade-long fight for the International Criminal Court)

"The Secretary-General...informed all concerned states that the withdrawal will take effect for the Philippines on March 17," UN spokesperson Eri Kaneko told Agence France-Presse.
The departure of the Philippines follows the court being hit in recent years by high-profile acquittals and moves by several nations to drop out.
Manila moved to quit after the body launched a preliminary examination in 2018 of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug crackdown that has killed thousands and drawn international censure.
Duterte's drug war is his signature policy initiative and he defends it fiercely, especially from international critics like Western leaders and institutions which he says don't care about his country.
However, court officials have said the preliminary probe launched by ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in February 2018 into possible crimes against humanity in the drug war would continue.
Under the court's rules, any matter under consideration before a nation leaves the court is still under its jurisdiction. (EXPLAINER: ICC's track record and what it means for Duterte and the PH)
String of setbacks

Duterte has made it clear his government will not cooperate with the ICC in any way.
"The court "can never acquire jurisdiction over my person. Not in a million years," he said in a speech on Wednesday, March 13.

The examination, which is one step before a full-blown probe, zeroes in on allegations the government has been involved in illegal killings as part of the crackdown Duterte launched in mid-2016.
Police say they have killed 5,176 users or pushers who resisted arrest, but rights groups say the actual number of dead is at least triple that number. (READ: The Impunity Series)
Critics have alleged the crackdown amounts to a war on the poor that feeds an undercurrent of impunity and lawlessness in the nation of 106 million.

The Philippines' move to exit follows a string of setbacks for the ICC, including the January acquittal of former Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo and the June 2018 not guilty verdict for former DR Congo vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Burundi in 2017 became the first-ever nation to leave the court, which was founded in 2002.
In a wave of unprecedented defections, other African nations â€” Zambia, South Africa, Kenya and Gambia â€” have also made moves to quit or expressed interest in withdrawing as they accused the court of being biased against Africans.
However, earlier in March, the court got a boost when Malaysia officially joined, making it one of just a handful of Asian members. â€“ Rappler.com

Sa mga nagbabasa pala nito o baka dahil sa bash ako nang bash kay Lord D eh akala niyo dilawan ako. Hindi ah. Mukha lang ganun. At hindi din ako basta ayaw ko lang sa kanya. Honestly nung 2016, I would prefer him to win than Binay but that's in 2016. I gave this presidency the benefit of the doubt multiple times, naÃ¯ve as I may be, but he's not hitting the right spots for me. Still giving him that benefit that he has nothing to do with the #@*^ that's happening in our country like the killings, the even wider spread of corruption, the laughable economy, to pretty much not defending our sovereignty from China BUT HE IS DEFINITELY AN ENABLER OF ALL THESE so fvck him and his presidency. Now if ever his tone changes suddenly like tomorrow to what I actually expect from a President regardless if I supported him back in 2016 or not, I would support his initiatives moving forward. THAT'S A BIG IF!

And no, this is not a centrist view. Honestly centrists are the worst.

It doesn't matter who you voted for in 2016. Heck I know a lot of people who voted for Duterte who arenow regretting it. Most of them in the agri sector. What matters is who you are backing now. Also the thinking of any political promise is made to be broken is practically saying that politicians shouldn't be accountable. They should be man.